This historical Florentine villa is given a contemporary rethink
Danish design brand Frama and filmmaker Albert Moya have worked together to update the Villa Medicea di Marignolle in Italy
Multidisciplinary Danish design brand Frama has breathed new life into a historical Italian home, collaborating with filmmaker Albert Moya to create a welcoming space in Florence. Located between Galluzzo and Soffiano in the southwestern suburbs, Villa Medicea di Marignolle has a rich history. Both the former home of Galileo Galilei and one of the Medici family’s villas, it is now a base for Spanish-born Moya, who was keen to combine the 15th-century building with contemporary design codes.
‘I teamed up with Frama to create a studio, a space acting as a school where artists can meet students,’ Moya says. ‘A place where everyone can learn something new, absorb knowledge, and exchange ideas. There is a natural interaction between the interior architecture, Frama’s universe, and each selected piece. It is a harmonious, unified and balanced approach.’
It is a laid-back aesthetic encapsulated in the interior of the villa, an icon of Renaissance architecture, with the creation of two workspaces that serve equally for relaxing and socialising, in these surroundings that marry architecture, design and art.
For Moya, the tranquillity of the Florentine villa is key to its success, and his partnership with Frama defines the parameters of the untraditional living studio. It is a natural project for the Danish studio, which composes design solutions from its base and showroom space in the historic St Paul’s Apotek in Nyboder, Copenhagen. In the past, the brand has worked on both lifestyle objects, fragrances and homewares and interior architecture projects, as well as offering a multisensory approach to design solutions for furniture and lighting, creating warm and welcoming spaces.
‘With an emphasis on natural materials, simple geometries, and uncompromising quality, our work celebrates craftsmanship,’ the brand states. ‘It connects the imaginative with the practical, resulting in a uniquely honest aesthetic.’
INFORMATION
framacph.com
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.
-
The most whimsical hotel Christmas trees around the world
We round up the best hotel Christmas tree collaborations of the year, from an abstract take in Madrid to a heritage-rooted installation in Amsterdam
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Stone dials are making a comeback: here are the watches doing it best
Watches with hard stone dials are enjoying a surge in popularity
By Chris Hall Published
-
These illuminating fashion interviews tell the story of style in 2024
Selected by fashion features editor Jack Moss from the pages of Wallpaper*, these interviews tell the stories behind the designers who have shaped 2024 – from Kim Jones to Tory Burch, Willy Chavarria to Martine Rose
By Jack Moss Published
-
Turin’s Museo Egizio gets an OMA makeover for its bicentenary
The Gallery of the Kings at Turin’s Museo Egizio has been inaugurated after being remodelled by OMA, in collaboration with Andrea Tabocchini Architecture
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
A floor made of tomato skins? Welcome to the Mutti Canteen by Carlo Ratti in Parma
Mutti Canteen by Carlo Ratti is a new, environmentally friendly foodie piece of architecture within Parma's green countryside
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Naples Central Station boasts a wavy, wooden signature roof that is dramatic and sculptural
Naples Underground Central Station by Benedetta Tagliabue is a work of art that’s inviting and vibrant, matching its dynamic context
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is an essential tour of the Italian master’s works
‘Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Buildings’ is the perfect book for architecture enthusiasts
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
New Aesop Milan store is a haven of beauty and tranquillity
The latest Aesop Milan store to open is a hub of wellness, beauty and tranquillity in the Italian metropolis
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A new water mirror casts a misty veil over ancient Roman baths
Architect Hannes Peer reveals a water mirror in Rome – an immersive architectural installation at the heart of the ancient Baths of Caracalla
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Modernist architecture: inspiration from across the globe
Modernist architecture has had a tremendous influence on today’s built environment, making these midcentury marvels some of the most closely studied 20th-century buildings; here, we explore the genre by continent
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Giovanni Michelucci’s dramatic concrete church in the Italian Dolomites
Giovanni Michelucci’s concrete Church of Santa Maria Immacolata in the Italian Dolomites is a reverently uplifting memorial to the victims of a local disaster
By Jonathan Glancey Published